The dirt-flinging alternate history of the Porsche 911

Jeff Zwart takes a spin in a Porsche rally legend.

Jeff Zwart is a seven time Pikes Peak Hill Climb class champion, one of the co-founders of a successful multi-media company, and he even graced the halls here at Road & Track as a photographer for a time early in his career. He's like the Leonardo da Vinci of car guys.

As an unabashed Porsche nut and rally enthusiast, he's no stranger to combining these two passions. In this new video, Porsche gave Zwart the chance to drive the rally-prepped Type 953 911 that Jackie Ickx drove in the 1984 Paris Dakar Rally. Ever since that year, he's been fascinated with the Dakar 953s, so clearly, this drive was a real treat for him.

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The Type 953 saw significant modifications over the 911, on which it was based, for the rigors of the Paris Dakar Rally. Engineers added four-wheel-drive, raised the suspension, and its (awesome sounding) flat-six produced 300 hp. The program was short-lived, however, since the far more technically advanced 959 was tapped for Dakar duty the following year.

And these famous rally 911 variants might be the inspiration for a concept homage, the rumored 911 Safari. We'll have to wait until the Beijing Auto Show to see if that one comes about. Before that, watch this video.